Automatic player for musical instruments.



H. F HERMAN.

AUTOMATIC PLAYER FOR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.

APPLICATION FILED OCT- ll. I912.

Patented Oct. 16; 1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l 2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

\III I H! avwentoz H. F. HERMAN.

AUTOMATIC PLAYER FOR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. II. I9I2.

Patented Oct. 16, 1917.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY F. HERMAN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSI GNOR TO THE IMPERIAL PIANO PLAYER COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

AUTOMATIC PLAYER FOR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.

Application filed October 11, 1912.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY F. HERMAN, a citizenof the United States, and a resident of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Automatic Player for Musical Instruments, which in vention is fully set forth in the following' specification.

This invention relates to players for musical instruments having a series of toneemitting devices which are actuated in accordance with perforations in a music sheet, and relates particularly to electro-magnetically controlled players.

It is an object of the invention to provide a player of this character in which the sound-producing devices of a musical instrument are actuated by electromagnets, which magnets magnetically cooperate with a revoluble shaft armature common to all the magnets, said magnets being supported independently of but with the pole faces thereof to contact with said armature in a line of contact parallel with the axis of the shaft, and the armature instantly impartinginovement to the magnets, and immediately actu ating the corresponding sound-emitting devices of the instrument, through the magnetic cling of the magnets to the armature when the magnets are energized.

Another object of the invention is to provide a common motive power to simultaneously advance the music sheet and rotate the armature shaft, whereby a single governor may be employed to regulate the advance of the music sheet, and the velocity of the shaft, and thereby the momentum of the blows imparted to the tone-emitting devices.

Other objects and advantages will herein after appear.

In the drawings accompanying and forming a part of this specification Figure 1 is a front elevation, partly broken away, of a player for musical instruments illustrating an embodiment of my invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional side elevation showing an embodiment of my invention applied to the keyboard of a piano, and also illustrating diagrammatically the circuit connections for the electro-magnetically controlled devices.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a magnet core employed in connection with my invention.

Figs. 4 and 5 are sectional side elevational Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 16, 1917.

Serial No. 725,229.

views showing modifications of the electromagnetlcall v actuated means to prolong the sound of a note struck, without using the magnetic cling of the actuating magnet to the armature.

Fig. 6 is a front elevation, partly in section, of a portion of the contact brush.

Fig. 7 is a sectional side elevation of a portion of the tracker-bar with a music sheet passing over the same, and showing the re lation of the contact brush thereto; and v Fig. 8 is an elevational view showing an embodiment of my invention applied to the wippen of a piano action.

Similar characters of reference designate like parts throughout the different views of the drawings.

Electro-magnetically operated players for musical instruments as heretofore constructed are complicated and have proven to be more or less impracticable and to have objectionable features, and it is the purpose of the present invention to provide a simple, practical and efficient structure, which is inexpensive and free from complications.

The invention may be applied to use in connection with va ious instruments, to operate directly upon the strings of a piano or parts of a piano action, such as the wippen of the action. However, for convenience an embodiment of the invention has been shown in the drawings and will be de scribed as applied to operate the soundemitting devices of a piano through the keys of the piano, wherein is employed a perforated music sheet through the perforations in which the desired control is effected of the circuits which include the means for actuating said tone-emitting devices.

In carrying out the embodiment of the invention as shown in the drawings 1 cmploy a continuously moving body of such character as to attract a magnet thereto, a revoluble iron shaft answering this purpose, and said shaft being rotated in a suitable manner. A plurality of electro-magnets, one for each tonecmitting device of the musical instrument, are supported independently of said shaft and in such relation thereto as to permit the pole faces thereof to contact with said shaft, with the point of contact in a line substantially parallel with the axis of the shaft. The electric circuits or fields of the coils of the electro-magnets to energize the magnets are controlled by and in accordance with the perforations in a music sheet, and each magnet core when energized will magnetically cling to the revoluble shaft, movement being imparted to the magnet by the shaft through said magnetic cling in directions tangential to the surface of the shaft, as determined by the arc of movement of the lever, to actuate a toneemitting device of the musical instrument, in this instance through a key.

In the embodiment of my invention shown in the drawings the operative mechanism is mounted upon a baseboard 1 having a part 2 to support it upon the piano casing, the tracker bar and music sheet carrying rolls and the advancing means therefor being mounted upon a framework 3 fixed tothe baseboardv A take up roll 4 is journaled in the framework 3, and is driven by a spring ,motor 5 through a shaft 6. A shaft 11 suitably journaled, as in brackets 12, in the framework extends the full length of the keyboard which shaft may be termed the player shaft and serves as armature to all of the electro-magnets to attract said magnets when energized. The shaft is rotated in a suitable manner, in the present instance by the spring 5 simultaneously with the take-up roll -:lthrough a gear 7 fixed to the shaft 6 of the take-up roll meshing with a pinion 9 to which is fixed a gear 8, the latter gear meshing with a pinion 10 on the player shaft. Means are provided to regulate and control the speed of the shaft 11 and of the take-up roll 4, shown as consisting of a governor 13 of the centrifugal ball type, including a friction pad device, driven from the shaft 11. A manually operable control rod or lever 1i cooperates-with the friction pad to effect the desired speed control, and also serves to start and stop the operation of the player. By this arrangement there is provided a drive common to both the take=up roll and the shaft 11, and also means; to control the speed of said shaft and the advance of the roll.

A contact or tracker-bar 15 is mounted upon the frame 3 between the take-up roll. 4 and a roll 16 upon which the music sheet 17 is wound, said spool being removably journaled in said frame 8. This tracker-bar is provided with a series of contacts 15- insulated from each other, one for each toneemitting device, each contact constituting a terminal for the circuit windingor coil of an actuating magnet and alined with a line of perforations in the music sheet. The forward end of the music sheet is adapted to be adjustably connected to the take-up roll f in the usual manner, so as to draw the perporated sheet across the face of the trackerbar.

In front of the tracker-bar is pivotally supported in the frame 3 a metallic brush bar 18 provided with a multiplicity of small bristle-like wires, which together with the brush bar 18 form a continuous brush common to all the contacts 15, and the bristlelike wires when in position for use bear upon the surface of the perforated music sheet and make contact through the perforations in said sheet with the insulated contacts 15, a number of which wires normally close the circuit through each of the contacts exposed through the perforations in the sheet thereby completing the circuits of the magnet coils. A preferred form of constructing the continous brush bar to provide a sufficiency of bristle-like wires to insure a contact and completion of a circuit through each perforation in the sheet, however small, is shown in Figs. 6 and '7'. In this embodiment bunches or knots 40 of the bristle-like wires are inserted into openings in the brush bar 18. and are held therein by a lacing or wire 41, in the manner used in making an ordi nary brush. The wires co mposing the various bunches liverge upon projecting from the brush bar and combine to form a continuous group representing a full line of fine contacts standing close together, as indicated at 42 (F 6), and having a thickness of anumber of wires, as shown at 43 (Fig. 7). As these wires may be of extreme fineness and bear at an angle upon the surface of the music sheet it will be seen that a. number of them may penetrate a single perforation in the music sheet, and as one wire is suflicient to make the electric contact the completion of the circuit is assured. It will be obvious that the bristles are held out of contact with the contacts 15 bv the music sheet eXccpt when one or more of the perforations permit thelproper circuits to be closed. The brush bar 18 has a handle 19 to tilt and throw, it up. away from. the tracker-bar 15 when it, is desired to insert the music sheet between the brush and tracker-bar.

A conducting bus-bar 21 is mounted upon a pillow block 20- carried by the base 1 and at the rear of; the armature shaft 11 to extend the full length of the musical instru ment, to which one terminal of a suitable source of current. shown as a batten cell or cells 27, is connected through wire 28. The other terminal of the current source is connected through wire 29 to the brush bar 18. A suitable switch 27 may serve, through connections 26, to cut in or out one or more of the battery cells 27.

The bus-bar 21 is preferably of brass of angle shape in cross section, the upright member of which is slotted to receive levers or walking beams 23 pivotally supported by cars 22 alternating with the slots. To the rear end of each lever is iivotally connected a thrust rod 24 to pass through an opening in the base 1 and having a hammer or plunger at the lower end carrying at the end a pad of felt or the like and constituting the actuator for the corresponding tone-emitting device,'in thepresent instance serving as the actuator for a key. From the front edge of each lever is suspended an electromagnet 25, each magnet consisting of a boxlike frame 25 constituting the core and a coil or winding 25 surrounding aportion of the core. The electro-niagnets are supported independently of but to have contact withthe armature. shaft 11 with the pole faces" of the magnet cores lying sidewise against the peripheral surface of the shaft and contacting with the shaft in a line parallel with the axis of the shaft so that when the electric current is passed through the coil of a magnet by the completion of its circuit, the core of said magnet is energized and instantly magnetically clings to the surface of the shaft and through said magnetic cling is moved endwise with the pole faces of the magnet core lying against the shaft moving in a direction tangential to the surface of the shaft. The movement of the magnet effects the delivery of the required blow to sound the connected sound-emitting device. It will be noted that this movement of the magnet is the result of the magnetic cling of the core of the magnet to the shaft as distinguished from frictional action.

It is important that the magnets should not only become energized and sound their notes promptly but also that they should as promptly become deenergized and release the notes in conformity with the perforations in the music sheet. That is, the magnets should be promptly and sensitively and absolutely under the control of the perforations in the music control sheet. Having the magnets in constant contact with the player shaft as their common armature insures that the magnet is in position to instantly sound the note upon the closing of the circuit, because no interval is required to first draw the magnet up to the shaft, with the possibility of producing audible clicks, before the magnet is lifted by the rotating shaft. By thus utilizing the magnetic cling of the magnetcore directly against the shaft the instant the circuit of the magnet is opened the cling is destroyed and the parts will be placed in condition to return to their initial position without hindrance.

From the bus-bar 21 the circuit of each magnet coil is completed through its connected walking beam 23, magnet frame or core 25, and thence from the magnet winding or coil 25', as clearly shown in Fig. 2, and from which coil 25 the circuit is completed through the Wires 29 to a corresponding contact 15 of the contact or trackerbar 15.

To eliminate or relieve any magnetic drag or cling of a magnet to the shaft incidental to prolonging a note through a long perforation in the music sheet, means are provided to promptly deenergize the magnets when they have accomplished their Work of sounding a note, and to otherwise prolong or hold the note as required by the perforation in the music sheet. In Fig. 2 I have shown an arrangement to accomplish this result wherein an auxiliary electro-magnet 30 in series with 25 is employed, the armature 31 of which magnet is mounted upon the walking beam 23, there being as many magnets 30 and armatures 31 as there are keys or walking beams therefor. A short circuit for the magnet 30 is connected to the bus-bar 1-1 when the walking beam 23 is actuated through the armature 31 carried by said beam coming in contact with the core of said magnet 30, or with a contact piece projectv ing from or connected electrically to said core. By this arrangement the energization of a. magnet coil 25 effects the actuation of its associated walking beam 23, the actuation of which beam completes the short circuit connection of the holding magnet 30 deeuergizing the magnet coil 25", and causing its core to release its magnetic cling on said shaft 11. By the action of the magnet 30 upon its armature the key is maintained depressed or the note prolonged until the circuit connection of said magnet 30 is again broken through the interposing of the music sheet at the end of the perforation between the contact 15 and the brush bristles d3.

In the modification shown in Fig. 4 the armature 31 is mounted upon the thrust rod 24 to cooperate as hereinbefore described with its holding magnet 30.

In Fig. 5 a pivoted hook 32 is carried by the walking beam and cooperates with another hook 33 connected to and forming an extension of the armature 34: of the holding magnet 35, the arrangement being such that when the magnet 35 is energized and the walking beam is actuated the hooks 39', 33 engage each other and mechanically retain the beam depressed until the circuit of the magnet 35 is again opened. The magnet 35 is initially energized when the circuit of the coil 25 is completed thereby positioning the hook 33 in proper relation to be engaged by and to retain the hook 32. The engagement of these hooks completes the short circuit connection around the coil 25 and through the magnet 35. thereby causing the magnet 95 to become deenergized and holding the walking beam and thrust rod in a depressed position. before described. until the circuit of the magnet 30 is again opened at the contact 15 when the magnetic parts automatically let go and the magnet 25 returns to normal position.

In Fig. 3 is shown a form of magnet core suitable for use in carrying out my invention, in which construction the core is made The operation will be readily understood from the foregoing description. The rolled music sheet 16 is properly inserted and the forward end of the perforated sheet 17 passed between the contact bar 15 and the brushes 43, the brush bar 18 being lifted to permit the passage of the sheet, the said end then being secured to the take-up roll. The take--up roll and the shaft 11 are then placed in rotation. The unperforated portions of the interposed music sheet support the brushes away from the contacts carried by the contact-bar causing the circuits of the magnet coils 25 to remain open and holding the magnet cores thereof inert. hen one or more perforations of the sheet 17 pass over corresponding contacts 15 the circuits of the connected magnet coils 25 are closed by the brushes coming in contact with the contacts 15' uncovered by the perforations, thereby causing the correspond ing notes of the instrument to be sounded, the notes struck being prolonged until the limit of the music sheet perforation is reached and. an unperforated portion of said sheet is again interposed between the brushes and the contact 15. The desired modulation is secured by varying the speed of rotation of the shaft 11 through the governor control rod 14 or by varying the strength of the current in the magnetic cir cuit through the manipulation of the switch 27. The former changes simultaneously the tempo and the momentum, while the latter varies the power, and hence the momentum of the strokes without affecting the tempo. If desired there may be two batteries one for the bass and one for the treble, or even three or more.

In Fig. 8 one form or embodiment of the invention is shown in a diagrammatic manner applied to the interior of a piano, and is operatively connected to the wippen 4d of the piano action. In this construction a series of pivotally supported levers or walking beams 28 are provided from which the electro-magnets are suspended to contact with the revoluble armature shaft 11, the ends of the levers engaging below the wippen and normally resting upon a support 46, a cushion d7, such as felt or the like. being carried upon the upper side of said support. In operation the shaft is rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow and as a magnet is energized it will be movedupward through the magnetic cling thereof to the shaft raising the lever and thereby the wlppen and sounding the note. hen

the circuit is broken by the music sheet the magnet will drop to initial position and the lever come to rest upon the support 46.

I have thus described my invention with some particularity of detail, but only for the sake of clearness, since it is not limited to the precise construction and arrangement of parts, but may be provided in various forms and modifications.

Having thus described my invention I claim 1. An electro-magnetically controlled player for musical instruments comprising in combination a source of electricity and a plurality of electric branch circuits; a rotatable shaft of magnetizable material; walking beams, electro-magnets including a core substantially of U-shape in cross section and an energizing coil in each branch circuit, each magnet core being suspended from one end of a walking beam with the pole faces contacting with the shaft in a line parallel with the axis of the shaft; means to operatively connect the other ends of the walking beams with the sound-emitting devices of the instrument; and a. traveling perforated music sheet to control the making and breaking of the circuits, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

An electro-magnetically controlled player for musical instruments having a series of sound-emitting devices, comprising in combination a shaft of magnctizahle material rotatable on a horizontal axis; a plurality of electro-magnets, one for each sound-emitting device of the instrument. each magnet including a core substantially of U-shape in cross-section and an energizing coil; means to support the electro-magnets with the pole faces of the cores in position to contact with the shaft in a line parallel with the axis of the shaft and operatively connect the magnets with the sound-emitting devices of the instrument; an electric circuit for each energizing coil; and a perforated music sheet to control said circuits.

An electro'magnetically controlled player for musical instruments comprising in combination a rotatable shaft of magnetizable material; pi-votally supported walking beams; an electro-magnet substantially of U-shape in cross section suspended from one arm of each walking beam in position with the pole faces thereof to contact with said shaft in a line parallel with the axis of the shaft; an electric circuit for each magnet; a traveling perforated music sheet; and means actuated by each Walking beam to cause the sounding of the soundemitting devices of the instrument.

4. An electro-magnetically controlled player for musical instruments comprising in combination a rotatable shaft of magnetizable material; electro-magnets, each magnet including a core and an energizing coil and the core supported with the pole faces contacting with the shaft to have movement imparted thereto through the magnetic cling of the core to the shaft; an electric circuit for each magnet; a perforated music-sheet to control said circuits; and means to short circuit the coil of each magnet substantially as and for the purpose specified.

5. Anelectro-magnetically controlled player for musical instruments comprising in combination a rotatable shaft of magnetizable material; electro-magnets, each mag net including a core and an energizing coil and the core supported with the pole faces contacting with the shaft to have movement imparted thereto through the magnetic cling of the core to the shaft; an electric circuit for each magnet coil; a perforated music sheet to control the magnet circuits; a second magnet in the circuit of each of the first magnets; a short circuit for each of said first magnets; and means actuated by the first magnets to close said short circuits said second magnets, operating when energized to prolong a note.

6. An electro -magnetically controlled player for musical instruments comprising in combination a traveling perforated music sheet; a revoluble shaft of magnetizable material; means to revolve the shaft and advance the music sheet; a plurality of electric branch circuits controlled by the music sheet; a series of levers; connections between one arm of each lever and the sound-emitting devices of the instrument; an electromagnet in each of the electric circuits suspended from the other arm of each lever with the pole faces to contact with the shaft in a line parallel with the axis of the shaft and magnetically coacting therewith to have movement imparted thereto; a second magnet in each circuit; a short circuit for each of said first magnets; and means carried by the levers to magnetically cooperate with the second magnets to short cir- Quit the first magnets when the tone-emitting devices have been actuated by the first mag nets and hold the levers and the connected tone-emitting devices through the connection therewith to prolong the notes, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

7 An electro -magnetically controlled player for musical instruments comprising in combination a traveling perforated music sheet, and means to actuate the sound-emitting devices of the instrument by and in accordance with the perforations in the music sheet; said means comprising a revoluble shaft of magnetizable material, a motor to simultaneously rotate the shaft and advance the music sheet, levers, one for each soundemitting device of the instrument, operative connections between one end of each of said levers and the sound-emitting devices of the instrument; an electro-magnet including a box-shaped corc substantially of U-shape in cross section and an energizing coil for the core suspended from the other end of each lever with the pole faces of the cores to contact with the periphery of the shaft in a line parallel with the aXis of the shaft, and an electric branch circuit for each magnet controlled by the music sheet, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

8. An electro-magnetically controlled player for musical instruments comprising in combination a traveling perforated music sheet and means to actuate the soundemitting devices of the instrument by and in accordance with the perforations in said sheet; said means comprising a rotatable shaft of magnetizable material, a motor to simultaneously rotate the shaft and advance the music sheet, a lever for each sound-emitting device operatively connected at one end to a sound-emitting device, an electro-magnet suspended from each lever with the pole faces to contact with the shaft to have movement imparted thereto by the magnetic cling thereof to the shaft, an electric circuit for each magnet the opening and closing of which circuits is controlled by the music sheet, a governor to regulate the movement of the shaft and the travel of the music sheet, and a lever to cooperate with the governor to retard and advance the movement of the shaft and the travel of the music sheet and to start and stop the motor.

9. An electro -magnetically controlled player for musical instruments comprising in combination a rotatable shaft of magnetizable material; actuating electro-magnets, supported independently of the shaft with the pole faces to contact with the shaft; a source of electricity; a branch circuit for each actuating magnet; auxiliary magnets;

a short circuit around each actuating magnet;

means operated by each actuating magnet to actuate its corresponding sound-emitting device of the instrument and to close its short circuit, said auxiliary magnets when energized operating to hold the sound-emitting devices in actuated position; and a perfor-ated music sheet to control the circuits for the actuating magnets.

10. An electro -magnetically controlled keyboard player comprising in combination a rotatable shaft of magnetizable material; a frame in which said shaft is mounted; a standard disposed adjacent and parallel to said shaft; a bus-bar carried by said standard; levers pivotally supported by and spaced to register said bus-bar with the keys; an electro-magnet having its core connected to one end of each lever with the pole faces of said core to contact with the periphery of said shaft; an energizing coil for each mag- 10 between said brushes and contacts; and

means connected to the other ends of said levers to actuate the keys.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

HENRY F. HERMAN.

lVitnesses C. A. L. MASSIE, RALPH L. SCOTT.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

